First NZ former league player diagnosed with CTE after death

New Zealand has its first diagnosis of a brain disease caused by head knocks in a former rugby league player.

His family don't want the man to be identified but are grateful he's contributed to New Zealand's efforts to understand CTE or chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

A New Zealand Medical Journal paper reports the 79-year-old Pākehā man died in 2021 and had Parkinson's disease and dementia in his later years, for which he needed hospital-level care.

He played rugby from 9 years of age and played rugby league and boxed at high school, representing New Zealand at the top level for league in the 1960s and early 1970s.

"This is someone who had had repeated head injuries as a result of multiple knocks.

"And some concussions, we don't know exactly how many," the Neurological Foundation Human Brain Bank's professor Maurice Curtis said.

He said a head knock doesn't instantly predispose someone to the neurological diseases, rather the conditions develop over time.

"I think it's important for people to remember too that this is one of a number of risk factors for developing neurodegenerative diseases, but it is a modifiable one.

"It's something that is within the hands of each individual to make some decisions around how much more they play if in fact they've had multiple head knocks or multiple concussions," he said.

The findings contribute to the world's understanding of what CTE is and how prevalent the disorder is.

"I think this is just the tip of the iceberg.

"It's great that in New Zealand now we've developed the diagnostic capability," Curtis said.

More cases of CTE and suspected CTE have been emerging in recent years.

In March, it was revealed former Super Rugby player Billy Guyton had the disease. He died of a suspected suicide.

Last month, Australian league great Wally Lewis, who has suspected CTE, shared his symptoms in an impassioned speech and made the call for the Australian Government to fund research.

"I live with the fear of embarrassment of forgetting the conversations I've just had, where I'm supposed to be or what I'm supposed to be doing when I get there," he said.

Last year New Zealand's community league rules were strengthened to require medical clearance after a 21-day standdown for concussion.

"It's a lot better than it ever has been before and we'll continue to review it and ensure that we continue to make adjustments as required," New Zealand Rugby League chief executive Greg Peters said.

Former New Zealand league players say the game's come a long way as well, but there'll always be a level of risk as a contact sport.

"At the end of the day we can't sugar coat the reality of what the sport is.

"If your opponent's got the ball your job is to stop it whatever way you can," former player Ken Laban said.

Former player Johnny Lomax said he wants to see his grandchildren achieve in the sport in future, without them being at risk of being affected later in life.

"That short timespan of playing the game's pretty important but then the longevity of a life and having a life afterwards is important as well to all of us.

"We enjoy that tough stuff and the toughness that the game brings to us but obviously the welfare of the men and women playing the game is very important."

The only known cause of CTE is earlier exposure to repetitive head impacts from activities like contact sports or military service, the New Zealand Medical Journal paper states.

The only way to conclusively diagnose the disease is through post-mortem investigation.

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